McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski took an opportunity on Wednesday to drop some truth bombs and spread a little wisdom when he warned that the city of Chicago is currently going through a crisis of violent crime which is destroying the city’s economy and is driving away business.
This has been a problem in Chicago for a long, long time. Look at how many fatal shootings take place in the city on a weekly basis. It’s insane. Why is this happening in a place that has some of the strictest gun control laws in the entire country? Something doesn’t add up here. Could it be that gun control laws only take away weapons from the hands of law-abiding citizens, while criminals continue to get guns from the black market?
On top of this, you have the “defund the police” movement that has stripped funding from departments all over the U.S., which has resulted in fewer police officers out and about in the streets, increasing criminal activity. Then there are “soft-on-crime” attorneys general who is giving hardened criminals light sentences. Is it any wonder crime is exploding in Chicago and other major cities?
TheBlaze said, “Chicago is home to corporations like McDonald’s, Allstate, US Foods, United Airlines, and tons of others. But unless the city solves its crime problem, Kempczinski predicted that fewer businesses will headquarter themselves in the Windy City.”
“Everywhere I go, I’m confronted by the same question. ‘What’s going on in Chicago?’ There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis,” the CEO stated during a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago.
Kempczinski then went on to say that leaders in the city need to start facing the “facts” and understand that crime is now in the process of transforming Chicago into a place that is undesirable to conduct business.
“The facts haven’t been especially kind to the city of Chicago as of late,” Kempczinski continued, Fox Business reported. “The fact is that there are fewer large companies headquartered in Chicago this year than last year. There are fewer this month than last month.”
He stated later in the speech, “It has become increasingly difficult to operate a global business out of the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.”
“McDonald’s estimates that its economic impact in Chicago is roughly $2 billion annually, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s a big number considering company employees are telling Kempczinski they do not feel safe traveling to McDonald’s downtown corporate offices, he said,” the report noted.
As stated earlier, crime has been one of the biggest issues facing the city of Chicago for a long time. However, this year has seen an already big problem grow into an enormous one. The WSJ said, “Data from the Chicago Police Department show that from the start of the year through Sept. 11, murders are down 15% when compared with the same period a year earlier, while thefts are up 65%. Crime overall is up 38% from last year’s period, according to the department, and 19% higher compared with the same stretch in 2019, before the pandemic.”
There have been a number of businesses that have left the city over the course of the last 12 months including Boeing, Caterpillar, and Citadel. And guess what? These businesses are all headed to states that have GOP governors. Coincidence? I think not.
Kempczinski stated that, as of now, McDonald’s will stay in the city.